{"id":1273,"date":"2017-03-22T10:09:05","date_gmt":"2017-03-22T15:09:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.davideriknelson.com\/sbsb\/?p=1273"},"modified":"2017-03-21T18:17:03","modified_gmt":"2017-03-21T23:17:03","slug":"commas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.davideriknelson.com\/sbsb\/index.php\/2017\/03\/commas\/","title":{"rendered":"So You Need to Use a Comma"},"content":{"rendered":"

People freak out about commas.\u00a0\u00a0Please don’t. Yes, c<\/span>ommas are hella confusing (the Chicago Manual of Style<\/i> dedicates 59 distinct sub-sections to them, and even then there is ambiguity and opinion and wiggle room leftover), but\u00a0knowing these four little things<\/b> will almost entirely solve your comma problems.<\/p>\n

1. The “Oxford”\/”serial” Comma<\/b><\/h2>\n

This is technically the “list” comma: When you give a list, you put commas between individual items.\u00a0 <\/span>E.g.,:<\/p>\n

\n

Go to the store and get eggs, pineapple, a ’57 Chevy,<\/span>\u00a0and enlightenment.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

N.B. that the last comma (which I’ve put in red<\/span>) is disputed; that lil fella is an “Oxford comma”.\u00a0 <\/span>Some folks say it’s unnecessary (including, at least at one time, the AP Style Guide<\/i>), preferring:<\/p>\n

\n

Go to the store and get eggs, pineapple, a ’57 Chevy and enlightenment.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

But this can lead to hilarious\u00a0ambiguity, such as this oft-quoted (and probably apocryphal) book dedication sorely in need of an Oxford comma:<\/p>\n

\n

This book is dedicated to my parents, Ayn Rand and God<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u2014or this actual and verified sentence published in the Times of London a few years back:<\/p>\n

\"Nelson
Nelson Mandela was a highly accomplished man.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

FYI, serial commas apply to lists of adjectives, too:<\/p>\n

\n

You mean that fat,<\/span> red,<\/span> flabby car?\u00a0 <\/span>It’s mine.\u00a0 <\/span>Why?<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

2. The “if, then” Comma<\/b><\/h2>\n

“If . . ., then . . .” statements need commas:<\/p>\n

\n

If<\/b><\/span> you don’t cut it the fuck out,<\/b> then<\/b><\/span> I’m going to freak the fuck out.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Where this one tricks people is that we often omit the then<\/i> in an “if, then” statement\u2014nonetheless, we still need the comma:<\/p>\n

\n

If<\/b><\/span> you don’t cut it the fuck out,<\/b><\/span> I’m going to freak the fuck out.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

3. “That\/which” commas<\/b><\/h2>\n

Rule of Thumb: “that” is almost never<\/i><\/b> preceded\u00a0 <\/span>by a comma, while a standalone “which” is almost always<\/i><\/b> preceded by a comma:<\/p>\n

\n

You know that<\/b><\/span> dog I hired?\u00a0 <\/span>Turns out he has no idea how to use Excel, which<\/b><\/span> is super annoying.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

(So what\u00a0is a non-standalone “which”<\/em>?<\/strong> \u00a0“Which” used in a phrase like “that which” or “in which”\u2014in those cases,\u00a0you don’t stick a comma before the “which,” because that would muck up the phrase.)<\/p>\n

4. Commas by Ear<\/b><\/h2>\n

There are a ton<\/i> of other commas (“parenthetical commas,” “conjunction<\/a> commas,” “direct address commas,” etc., etc., ad infinitum, ad nauseam)\u2014fortunately, there’s an easy way to figure out where to put them without learning a ton of new rules. Here’s the trick:<\/p>\n

Commas indicate places where you take a brief pause when saying something.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

So, there’s a really easy way to get your commas right most of the time:<\/p>\n

Read\u00a0it aloud<\/b>; if there’s a place where you naturally take a half-pause or shift volume, then stick a comma there<\/b>. If you don’t pause, then strike<\/b> the comma\u2014unless<\/b> it’s one of the three situations listed above.<\/i> \u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

For example, say:<\/p>\n

\n

Dave\u00a0<pause>\u00a0<\/span>why did you say that?<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

That\u00a0pause is the direct address comma<\/em>:<\/p>\n

\n

Dave,\u00a0<\/span>why did you say that?<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Or try:<\/p>\n

\n

Did you know that Nate <pause><\/span>\u00a0the\u00a0terrible drunk in\u00a0my carpool\u00a0<pause><\/span> is marrying my sister?<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

That’s\u00a0the\u00a0parenthetical comma<\/em>:<\/p>\n

\n

Did you know that Nate,<\/span> the\u00a0terrible drunk in\u00a0my carpool,<\/span>\u00a0is marrying my sister?<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

This fourth rule is the golden rule, since most of the first three types of commas are also<\/i>\u00a0marked in speech by a pause or volume\/tone shift\u2014but sometimes those commas can be\u00a0subtle to the ear, which is why it’s worth knowing the first three rules. Rule #4 will keep you covered 90% of the time, while\u00a0Rules #1\u20133 will help you catch the tricky 10% \u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

We’re done here. Go forth, my children, and sin no more.<\/p>\n

(Want more details?\u00a0 Start with the Purdue Owl on Commas<\/a>, and then move on to the Chicago Manual of Style<\/em>, if need be.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

People freak out about commas.\u00a0\u00a0Please don’t. Yes, commas are hella confusing (the Chicago Manual of Style dedicates 59 distinct sub-sections to them, and even then there is ambiguity and opinion and wiggle room leftover), but\u00a0knowing these four little things will almost entirely solve your comma problems. 1. The “Oxford”\/”serial” Comma This is technically the “list” … Continue reading “So You Need to Use a Comma”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_share_on_mastodon":"1"},"categories":[11,8],"tags":[77,55,57,39,25],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.davideriknelson.com\/sbsb\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1273"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.davideriknelson.com\/sbsb\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.davideriknelson.com\/sbsb\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.davideriknelson.com\/sbsb\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.davideriknelson.com\/sbsb\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1273"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.davideriknelson.com\/sbsb\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1273\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1288,"href":"https:\/\/www.davideriknelson.com\/sbsb\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1273\/revisions\/1288"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.davideriknelson.com\/sbsb\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1273"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.davideriknelson.com\/sbsb\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1273"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.davideriknelson.com\/sbsb\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1273"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}